APPS & SITES

Stuck On Earth in Big Sur

I was able to use Stuck On Earth to find a lot of great places in Big Sur! By the way, don’t forget that you can now get it for iPad AND Android. We are glad that so many people are enjoying it! Anyway, don’t forget that one cool feature that lets you download all the photos in a given area and add them to a new trip. This came in handy here… I just kind of vacuumed up all the good spots into a “Big Sur Trip” with a single click!

Daily Photo – The Mighty Trees at Glen Oaks Big Sur

Here’s another photo from that amazing place I stayed in Big Sur. It’s called the Glen Oaks, so be sure to take a look at this place when planning a trip to the area!

It’s fun to take photos of these huge trees. The difficult thing is getting a sense of scale. So it’s good to use things in the photo like humans or houses to give everything a sense of perspective. This trick also works with caves or anything that is impressively huge in real life.

Don’t forget about Flatbooks!

Jump over to Flatbooks.com and see some of the latest offerings there! I think you’ll find something you like! 🙂

Daily Photo – Entering the Air and Space Museum

This was the last shot I got with my tripod at the museum before it was so rudely removed from my person by the security staff. I still get angry about this… I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. I think I get most angry because it is so illogical. Also, I get angry because a lot of this nonsense comes from lawyers, who are busy protecting themselves from other lawyers. People like me get caught up in their little war of lawsuits…

Correcting the Fisheye Lens

I took this photo with the fisheye (see my Nikon 16mm Fisheye Review) and then did the lens correction in post. What do you think? I’m pretty happy with it. I can see it’s a little wobbly in a few places, but not too bad. One problem I do notice at 100% is there is some chromatic aberration (purple and green outlines) in the corners, but that goes away as you get more to the middle. A little CA does not bother me too much, but I know it drives some people absolutely batty.

Speaking of CA…

I noticed lately that I have a lot of chromatic aberration in my glasses! When I look at bright areas in the corners of my glasses, I can definitely see it. I found this kind of mesmerizing for a while… I do it a lot now… I think it is just scientifically interesting how it prisms out the purple and green. Maybe this is why I don’t mind a little CA in the final shot… since I actually SEE it in real life with my glasses! Or maybe I am just making a lazy excuse… I can’t decide… both probably!

Daily Photo – Looking forward to more Tokyo photography

Last trip to Tokyo, I finally hit this neighborhood below. I'm looking forward to going back here and taking more photos! Mostly I think I am excited just because I have a new camera, and I know things are gonna be even crazier. This time, I'm gonna spend a bit more time doing street photography with the A7r and some Leica lenses. It's a great place to practice because most people there don't seem to mind when you take their photo!

If you didn’t know…

If you didn’t know the geological process that forms these strange round boulders on the beach, what would you guess? I can see how the first explorers here thought they might have been some kind of alien eggs!

Daily Photo – Birds on the Spherical Boulders

After the sun had gotten higher up in the air, I left “sunrise shooting mode” and entered “find interesting shapes mode.” I had on my 14-24 lens, which means I had to get super-close to these birds. Birds are hard to take photos of, I think. So I had to be very slow, like a cat, on my approach to these boulders. I barely got off a shot before the freaked out and flew away!

Processing Photos Out-of-Order

Many of you know that I process photos in random order. Chronological order seems as arbitrary as any other order, so I just go with random! So, I happened to recently process two photos from the new Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. So, here is one of the shuttle below, and you’ll see another from the museum in the next few days.

Daily Photo – The Shuttle in Repose

This was a hard shot to process — I’ll be honest! Some people got to watch this during one of our live event last month. That was exciting and scary because I had never worked on this one before. I let the audience vote on which one to process, and this one was the choice!

It was particularly hard because of all the shots were handheld. One thing I noted is that if the long exposures are blurred — then you really need to forget about bringing that one into Photomatix. It will just mess up the whole process!

Camera Police

I don’t understand why the Cirque du Soliel people are so militant about not letting you take photos. I really don’t get what the big deal is. I assume they are worried that someone will steal their ideas? I understand no flashes, but a good camera doesn’t need a flash to take a photo. Maybe they are trying to force people to enjoy it without using cameras? Or maybe if everyone does it, they will hold up cameras over their heads and block everyone? I don’t know… but it is quite annoying!

Daily Photo – Cirque du Soliel in Downtown Disney

Here’s the awesome tent they built just for Cirque du Soliel. I’ve always liked this architecture design. It looks both temporary and permanent.

This was my son’s very first Cirque du Soliel and he loved it. Yes, he was a little freaked out by parts of it, but I think everyone is! 🙂

The original Photoshop

Daily Photo – Lava in the streets of Tokyo

I had a few people look at this photo and tell me that it looks like lava is flowing down the streets. I never thought of that, but now that I see it, I can’t un-see it! If only we could see Mt. Fuji in the distance, then I could photoshop in a little bit of a volcanic eruption to make the whole effect complete!

From the Photomatix Presets

You may remember this shot from the sample on Trey’s Photomatix Presets. It turned out to be a perfect candidate because of the crazy amount of dynamic light. This is just about as dynamic as it gets — shooting into a very bright sun with dark, shadowy trees in the foreground.

Daily Photo – Out in the Woods

This is one of my favorite photos of an outhouse that I’ve ever taken. I’ve only taken one, by the way.

Actually, when I think about it being an outhouse, it makes it feel not so beautiful. So I just think of it like a little maintenance shed or a meditation chamber. Yes, that’s better, some sort of Scientologist meditation chamber where they measure their midichlorians.

Adding more behind-the-scenes videos

I’m recording more and more of these lately. The problem isn’t actually the recording — that bit is easy — the problem is the editing and uploading. That one takes me a bit… I’ve got a lead on a few possible interns here in the Queenstown area to help me out… once I get that bit, I can release even more! 🙂

Daily Photo – Windmill over still lake

When does a pond become a lake? Maybe this is a pond. Or maybe a pond is a subset of a lake. I do not know for sure. I could look it up, but I find it more fun to speculate about it.

Anyhoo, this serene scene is just another on the back nine of The Hills country club in Arrowtown. If you’re into golf, then this place is a must-visit! Or, if you’re just into photography, then it’s also a must-visit!

Thanks Balog!

I’m about to send out a FREE bonus pack to everyone that already bought those things… just a little nice thing… I created some new ones and thought you might enjoy them too. You can pick them up inside the Stuck In Customs store.

New HDR Tools? Or still Photomatix?

Yes, I’m still using Photomatix as my main tool! I updated the HDR Tutorial recently — you can see all the new screenshots in there.

Daily Photo – The Cinematic Country

When you drive to Aoraki Village, it can take many more hours than necessary if you like to take photos. There are literally one million places to jump out and get photos of roads and the mountain! So awesome!

Here’s a little hint if you take this road. If you walk off to the right and jump the fence, there are many little streams that are also very beautiful. No one ever walks over there… I don’t know why. Don’t let the fence stop you. No one is over there! 🙂